The room she was in was bright and white and smelled of antiseptic. A hospital.
A big happy black woman with a ball of yellow yarn was doing her knitting in the corner. She wore a big grin as she did her knitting. She was so clean. Gabby could see how clean she was from across the room. Everything was so clean. It was making her nose burn. She longed to be back in a smoke filled hotel room, or a smoggy aired Liverpool street.
She felt confined and she hated it.
“Wa…” she opened her mouth trying to talk but found it hard from the lack of disuse. “Whaa,, wheee…” WHERE AM I!
The black woman looked up from her knitting “Oh gracious me child, yer awake.”
Gabrielle let her mouth hang open, her eyes followed the woman as she came around to Gabby’s bedside and checked the clip board.
“Gabrielle” she said, and smiled “Like the angel”
“Neh.. nou…” She cleared her throat and tried a different tactic “Water” she rasped
The woman nodded vigorously and picked up a little orange cup with a straw in it and cranked Gabby’s bed up so she could have some. When she’d finished Gabrielle spoke more clearly.
“Where am I?” she asked quietly “What happened”
“Child, my name is Clarisse” said the woman, well, Clarisse. “You’re in Oakland Memorial hospital. You had stopped breathing and nearly went into cardiac arrest by the time they got you here”
Gabrielle felt ill “You mean I nearly died?”
“Nearly” Clarisse nodded “But do you know what saved you!”
“What?” Gabrielle asked anxiously
Clarisse beamed as if she had all the secrets to the world and was about to let Gabby in on them “The power of forgiveness child! Jesus Christ! You have sinned and he has forgiven you!”
“Oh” Gabrielle’s face deflated like a balloon. “Right”
One thing she was sure of, it wasn’t that. From being brought up in a clearly agnostic family that didn’t put any emphasis on religion at all Gabby personally had no views on that matter. Nor did she feel the need to go running into Jesus’ arms. She was fine with out that guilty crap baggage to carry around, thanks.
Clarisse continued to beam and stare and then she reached out and stroked a lock of Gabrielle’s long dark hair. Gabby was surprised to see the lock that hung over her shoulder was no longer dull and matted but appeared to have been washed and brushed for her. “The lord always forgives” Clarisse said pulling back “So is there anything you would like to confess, child?”
“Er…” Gabrielle frowned “Like what”
“The lord forgives, but you must first realize what you have done wrong” Clarisse continued, now frowning “Child, your blood alcohol levels were way past illegal and there was enough different kinds of medicines in your blood sample that I can’t keep track of em anymore”
Shit.
What had she taken that day? At least forty different things. She didn’t know what was what any more, if she could swallow it and zone out it was good enough.
Clarisse folded back a print out “Valium, Dexedrine, Perecoat, child, you swallowed a pharmacy”
“Why am I here?”
“Because, child, don’t you remember. Your friends called an ambulance, and you was passed out, choked on yer own sick. You see, what these evils do. Only the power of God can set you free from them”
“I don’t think he can really help”
“And besides that” Clarisse sighed “Ye nearly went into shock from what the doctor’s gave you. You’re mal nutritional. We’ve got you on a saline drip here, child. Have you got any sense in that brain?”
“Obviously not” Gabby muttered to herself
********
AN: Guys are you sure you want it to continue? She’s going home on any count.
